Educational Leadership

Doctorate | Master's Degree & PA Principal Certification | Prospective Students

Doctoral Program

The Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership is designed for international educators in leadership positions. The program is delivered online during the fall and spring semesters and on-site during the summer semester in Bethlehem, PA.

Enrolled students who have had at least two years of supervisory experience in an international school setting will need to complete 48 credits of course work. All students will need to maintain enrollment status after the course work is completed. Prior to proposal acceptance, students must be enrolled for a minimum of 3 credit hours each fall and spring semester. Once the dissertation proposal is accepted, students must be enrolled for one credit during each academic semester.

AREA I - Course Work (48 credit hours)

Click here for detailed Ed.D. course descriptions

AREA II - Dissertation
Candidates for the Ed.D. are required to present a dissertation prepared under the supervision of a professor in the Educational Leadership Program in the College of Education. The dissertation should embody results of original research, give evidence of high scholarship, and contribute to knowledge in the field of school leadership.

All students will need to maintain enrollment status after the course work is completed. Prior to proposal acceptance students must be enrolled for a minimum of 3 credit hours each fall/spring semesters. When the proposal is accepted students must be enrolled for one credit every fall/spring semester until completion of all degree requirements including the dissertation.

AREA III - International Supervisory Experience (12 credit hours)
Applicants who have had at least two years of successful service as a school head, principal, department chair, or specialist in an international school will receive 12 graduate credits based on his/her experience.

Residence Requirement (Concentrated Learning)
In order to fulfill the residence requirement, students accepted into the doctoral program must complete 18 credits in their first 15 months. The year of residency must include the first summer, fall, spring, and second summer semesters consecutively in order to meet the requirements. If a doctoral candidate cannot attend the five-week summer programs, acceptance must be deferred until the following fall semester. The residence requirement is intended to ensure that doctoral students spend a period of concentrated study and intellectual association with other scholars.

Ed.D. Program: 60 credits total
48 Course credits + Dissertation/12 Life Experience credits

Policies and Guidelines
Please visit https://www.lehigh.edu/education/edl/policy/policy_and_forms.html for detailed information on Doctoral program requirements, exams, the dissertation process, and more.

Publication Form for Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
You are the owner of the copyright in your thesis/dissertation. By completing and submitting this form, you are granting permission to Lehigh University to publish your thesis or dissertation on the World Wide Web immediately upon graduation unless otherwise specified. The form may be submitted via fax to 1-610-758-6223, scanned and emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or mailed to Lehigh University, Office of International Programs, 111 Research Dr, Room B-308, Bethlehem, PA 18015.

Master's Degree Program & Principal Certification

The Master's of Education in Educational Leadership is designed for individuals who work within the educational environments around the world. It serves as the foundation for individuals pursuing a principal's position in an international school. The program will place emphasis on the broad topics of leadership, management, curriculum, and student learning. Special emphasis is given to school leadership in the international setting.

Course Work for Master's Degree Program (30 Credit Hours)

Click here for detailed M.Ed. course descriptions

We are once again offering an "Approved Principal Certification Program" from the Department of Education in the State of Pennsylvania.

A student is eligible for the Pennsylvania Principal Certification if they have earned a Master's Degree from an accredited university or college.  For more information regarding Pennsylvania's Department of Education's requirements, visit http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pa_certification/8635

Students must take a minimum number of 16 credits at Lehigh University and as determined by the Director of International Programs to get a Pennsylvania Certificate.  (All students must take EdL 400, EdL 479, EdL 404, EdL 405, EdL 414 and EdL 415 at Lehigh as part of the minimum requirement of 16 credits.)

Additional Pennsylvania Principal Certification requirements:

• U.S. Citizenship
• Master's Degree from an accredited university or college
• U.S. teacher certification
• Five years of teaching experience at an accredited school
• Pass the Praxis test #0410, Educational Leadership
• Administration and supervision at the Pennsylvania level
• For information, call 609-734-5555, or visit www.ets.org
• When registering for the exam, please use the following codes:
  • Outside the U.S.: 8033
  • Pennsylvania Department of Education:  R2365
  • Within the U.S.: R2365

Academic Guidelines
Students are usually capable of completing their Master's Degree program in two consecutive calendar years using Lehigh's hybrid model of online technology-based course work and face-to-face summer sessions in a variety of sites.  Principal Certification requires additional time.

Prospective Students

We encourage prospective students to begin their program by taking courses at our Educational Leadership Summer Institute.

The Educational Leadership Summer Institute is intended for Doctoral and Master's Degree students as well as Professional Development students in the Educational Leadership program.